The C-J says community activist Ray Whitener has been instrumental in gathering support from community leaders, including state Senator Perry Clark:

Whitener also found a $4,500 grant from the American Public Transportation Association that, if approved, will be funneled through the Scottsdale Neighborhood Association to TARC to pay more than a quarter of the estimated $16,000 annual cost to run four TARC trolleys.

Area Metro Council members Vicki Welch, Rick Blackwell, David Yates, Dan Johnson, Marianne Butler and Bob Henderson have pledged to make up the rest with neighborhood development money from their districts.

TARC spokeswoman Kay Stewart said TARC has had discussions with trolley hop organizers, but plans have not been finalized.

The proposed route, which is modeled on similar monthly events held downtown and along Frankfort Avenue, includes the following stops: the historic Little Loomhouse (328 Kenwood Hill Rd.), Iroquois Ampitheater, Auburndale Village shopping center, Outer Loop Center, Fairdale Library and the Jefferson Memorial Forest welcome center (1131 Mitchell Hill Rd.).

That's a 13-mile round trip, more than twice as long as the five-mile round trip route of the Frankfort Avenue F.A.T. Friday trolley hop. Downtown's First Friday Trolley Hop, which recently picked up Republic Bank as a major sponsor, is a three-mile round trip. The Market/Main Street and Frankfort Avenue routes also offer more stops within a denser urban corridor.

You could miss the last First Friday trolley of the night leaving Flame Run Gallery (815 W. Market St.) to get you back to your car parked outside of Zephyr Gallery (610 E. Market St.), and you're looking at a 1.3 mile walk over well-lit sidewalks. It's only a bit further in mileage between Jefferson Memorial Forest's welcome center to the Fairdale Library (you're a bit out of luck if you parked at Iroquois), but a significant portion is fairly rural with no sidewalks, which means trolley passengers will need to be vigilant about the route and timing.